Master of Property

An introduction to the principles and legal concepts that apply to the built environment professions and how this law develops and changes. The subject covers:

• the fundamentals of common law;
• liability in tort law for injury or loss caused to other people or their property;
• legally binding contracts, their terms, obligations and breaches. These concepts extend into construction contracts, standard forms of contract, liabilities, litigation and arbitration;
• concepts of property and ownership in Australia. The legal nature of land, improvements, fixtures and chattels, land registration systems and encumbrances. Co-ownership: subdivision, joint tenancy in common. licenses and leases. occupier's liability;
• planning law;
• environmental law;
• intellectual property covering copyright, patents and consultancy issues.

This Masters level subject is designed to introduce the fundamental concepts required for understanding how property markets function and/or operate, as well as the basic valuation techniques required for determining the value of real property.

It serves both the new 300 point Master of Property and the Graduate Diploma of Property Valuation, which are courses taught within the Melbourne School of Design.

This is a foundation subject and is meant for students who are relatively new to the property education. The emphasis of this subject is to introduce students to the main systems and relationships which govern the operation of property markets, with particular reference to the valuation of commercial property in Australia.

The subject examines market analysis and valuation techniques as they apply to real property. The main areas to be covered include:

• To set property within an economic context
• To examine property as a set of linked markets, functionally divided between use, investment and development
• To critically evaluate the role that regulations and planning play in the property markets
• Typical valuation processes focussing on direct comparison, direct capitalization method, discounted cash flow method and residual method.

This subject aims to provide a range of applied skills to operate as a property professional in the area of property valuation and management. The subject examines:

• ownership and use perspectives as they apply to investment, valuation and management of real property as a business;
• property classes, market sectors and specialised properties;
• managing the physical asset in the various ownership and use scenarios, including legal, OHS, risk management, environmental and market demands;
• lease income and management.

The application of quantitative methods in analysis will be emphasised. These will include: discounted cashflow analysis, real estate finance and financial analysis, post taxation analysis and securitisation.

This subject focuses on the nature of accounting for organisations from the perspective of a preparer and user of financial reports. The subject examines the methods of recording and reporting transactions and events and how to both prepare and analyse financial reports.

This includes obtaining an understanding of the judgements and decisions involved in the preparation of financial reports. The subject examines how these different judgements and accounting policy choices can impact the analysis of profitability, liquidity, financial stability and efficiency outcomes.

This subject covers the legal framework within which urban planning takes place, and the ways in which local provisions (e.g. ‘Planning Schemes' in Victoria) can be used to implement plans by regulating development. It focuses on the legal frameworks and measures used in Australia, with particular emphasis on Victoria, but critically compares these with alternative approaches used in other jurisdictions. The intention is to teach students not just how to ‘operate' the current legal and statutory systems, but also how to change them to produce better outcomes. We begin by considering the role of regulation and laws in the process of urban planning, and the objectives that statutory planning seeks to achieve. We consider the possible tensions and conflicts between these objectives, and the different basic approaches that might be adopted in dealing with these tensions. The course then introduces the framework of planning law and governance in Victoria, comparing it with practice elsewhere in Australia and in selected overseas jurisdictions. The Victorian statutory planning process is covered in detail, addressing the making and amending of planning schemes, scheme administration and appeals. Finally, we consider the relationship between these state systems and other regulatory systems, such as Commonwealth environmental legislation, before turning to the question of possible reform of the Victorian and Australian systems.

The subject provides a broad overview of a range of topics relevant to the Australian construction industry, including the regulatory framework, construction materials and technology, construction documentation, geotechnical engineering, building structures, construction management and economics, and building inspections and faults. Building mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, fire, transportation and communication services and controls are also covered. The subject addresses issues in the context of residential, commercial and industrial buildings, and includes site visits.

The intention of this subject is to provide a broad introduction to the industry, with construction systems base, including an introduction to planning and scheduling, soil conditions, cost estimating and project management. The subject is intended for students entering the Master of Property program with no, or at least a very limited, construction background. This subject is not available to any students who have already completed 25 points of construction technology based or equivalent studies.

This subject is designed to equip students with the tools necessary to enable them to make the core decisions faced by managers and investors. The first part of the subject deals with establishing the environment in which organizations operate, namely the objectives of the suppliers of financial and human capital. The subject then considers the basic tools commonly employed by financial managers and investors including discounted cash flow techniques and financial mathematics. Measures and definitions of alternative forms of risk are considered and the relation between risk and expected reward in capital markets is established. Finally, the subject considers the important decisions faced by firms (such as investment, financing and dividend policy) and by investors (the composition of their optimal portfolio of stocks).

This subject provides an introduction to the fundamentals of microeconomics, strategy and key issues in macroeconomics, and applies this knowledge to business and management issues. Topics to be covered include: the working of competitive markets; the operation of business organisations such as cost management and pricing decisions; strategic behaviour and market outcomes in different market environments; the effect of public policy on business organisations; and the main macroeconomic influences on the business environment.

The subject provides students with an opportunity to produce an ordered, critical exposition of autonomously gained knowledge, thus demonstrating proper understanding of the nature, development strategies and conventions of research work, with particular focus in their area of specialisation.

The subject concentrates on the middle to final stages of research: from implementation of a research plan, to effectively interpreting and presenting results of the research plan implemented. Seminar group and one-on-one meetings are held with the supervisor/coordinator, to allow students to exchange and/or obtain advice on their topics.

Knowledge and materials prepared in the ABPL90363 Property Research and Analysis are to inform the final research report.

Students enrolled in this subject will partner with a host organization to complete an industry-based research project. Firms may be based in the commercial property development, investment, valuation, management and consultancy fields. Students will be supervised by the Subject Coordinator in collaboration with a designated party at the host organisation. Students will work on a research topic chosen by the host organization and will spend no more than 12 days working at the host organization over the course of the subject. Work will be limited to that needed to complete the research project. The Industry-Based Research Project will enable students to extend and apply the knowledge acquired through the Master of Property coursework subjects, will provide students with a valuable professional experience, and will extend their professional networks. This project can be taken to fulfil the research requirement of the Master’s in Property and may replace ABPL90362 Research Thesis – Property

This subject builds on property fundamentals and focuses on research in the real estate market. The subject aims to give you a range of applied skills in advanced property analysis, such as:

• Contemporary consideration in valuation of specialist properties (e.g. rural properties, shopping centres, retirement homes, leisure centres, resorts, easements, etc);
• Advanced financial analysis;
• Composition and functioning of the property lending market;
• Property lenders and lending products;
• The determination (and assessment of major determinants) of lending interest rate;
• Contemporary risk issues;
• Measurement of returns.

This subject aims to give students the knowledge and skills to be able to operate as a property professional in the area of development advice and decision making in property development. It comprises:

• the development process and the major players;
• time value of money;
• the decision to build;
• property market research and analysis;
• appreciation of investment and market valuation methods;
• development appraisal including residual analysis and cash flow modelling;
• price and worth; risk, return and risk analysis.

Valuation for statutory purposes including rating. Examination of all taxes affecting property, including land tax. Compulsory acquisition and compensation.

Overview of the legal system in Australia:

• The concept of property and ownership in Australia
• Comparative land policy
• The general law and the Torrens land registration systems
• The legal nature of land: improvements, fixtures and chattels
• Encumbrances: easements, restrictive covenants, right
• Co-ownership: subdivision, joint tenancy in common
• Licenses and leases
• Contract, tort and agency
• Occupier's liability
• Impact of heritage legislation

As the real estate market becomes increasingly international, it is necessary to understand how specific national markets operate and how they relate to one another within an international system. With globalisation, capital flows with increasing ease between national economies, and many real estate market actors - users, investors, developers and financiers - now search for opportunities across national boundaries. Real estate services, such as agency or research, have become international in order to serve these requirements.

At the global level, the institutional environment of real estate is extremely diverse. There are wide national differences in the economic, political, social and legal contexts within which real estate markets operate. Variations in planning control, landlord and tenant law, methods of valuation, professional education, and the symbolic significance of landed property represent important examples, and there are many others. Real estate market analysis therefore has to translate between different systems, both literally in terms of working language and metaphorically in terms of differences in business practice and culture.

This subject is intended to provide a comprehensive analysis of international real estate markets examining the rationale for their existence and development, its links to economic change, international financial diversification and institutional adaptation. The subject also examines the role of, and changes in, business culture to provide an understanding of the behaviour of real estate markets. The subject allows comparison over time of real estate markets in different countries, showing differences in market characteristics and changes thereof. The entry of international companies and their role in market development is also examined.

This subject is a survey of investment decision-making in the context of property, with a focus on cash flows, return, and value. Property investments are surveyed with emphases on the analysis of commercial real estate and the theory and methods of investment analysis in respect to tax and financial consequences. Financial and non-financial factors influencing the investment feasibility of income-producing property are covered.

Incidental costs

A financial calculator is required, specifically the HP10bii+. The cost is approximately $65.

Topics covered in this subject include:

• The role of corporate property in the strategic management of the organisation;
• Property as a strategic asset;
• Corporate property strategies and their alignment with organisational strategy;
• Models of CRE management;
• Tenure decisions;
• CRE portfolio analysis;
• CRE projects as interventions in CRE portfolios;
• CREM and procurement;
• Measuring corporate property performance;
• Workplaces and CRE;
• National and international locational analysis and competition;
• CRE information and information systems.

Property Research and Analysis is a taught module that draws on theories and techniques to analyse various property-related research questions in an applied way through selected research-based studies demonstrating how these theories and techniques are applied. The specific focus on research in this subject provides the foundation for ABPL90362 Research Thesis – Property.

The subject has two aims:

1. To equip students with the skills necessary to conduct rigorous and original research;
2. To provide them with an opportunity to develop a scholarly foundation and a theoretical framework for an investigation into a research topic determined by the student in conjunction with an academic supervisor. The academic supervisor will guide the student while undertaking ABPL90362 Research Thesis – Property.

The subject concentrates on the preliminary stages of research, from defining a research question through to planning and beginning implementation of the research. The output of students' work constitutes the basis for the empirical work conducted in ABPL90362 Research Thesis - Property and forms an integral part of the final research report of that subject.

Together ABPL90363 Property Research Analysis and ABPL90362 Research Thesis - Property meet the 25-point research pathway to PhD requirement.

Property Data and Tools is focused on teaching students about changes in the urban built environment and property markets through a hands-on analysis approach.

The main aims of this subject include:

1. Identifying the impacts of policy, economic and social changes on the built environment; specifically focusing on changes to property markets and built form.
2. Providing students with an understanding of the strengths and limitations of property and spatial data analysis methods and techniques. This will enable them to identify the appropriateness and validity of both their own research and that of others.
3. Encouraging students to use empirical means to test existing theories of property market behaviours.
4. Equipping students with the technical skills to gather, integrate, manage, clean, analyse and visualise property data.

This subject works through the process of conceptual understanding and hypothesis generation, followed by the collection, management, analysis and visualisation of related property and spatial data. At each stage both theory, technique and tools are presented as an integrated unit allowing students to understand why an analysis is done, where property data is sourced, what necessary software products are to be used and how analysis will generate visualised results.

Topics covered include:

• advanced life cycle based property asset management;
• economic modelling;
• asset management optimisation;
• functional and economic performance;
• standards;
• obsolescence;
• condition assessment;
• maintenance and refurbishment implications;
• market and income issues;
• property finance, accounting and taxation issues;
• risk analysis;
• public and private sector guidelines.

This subject was formerly called Project Management Framework.

This subject provides a critical review of the theory of project management in construction by showing and reflecting on how the established set of project management competencies applies to all phases of building projects’ life cycle. Through project simulations and structured discussion, students are made aware of the relationship between quantitative data and qualitative decisions in a framework of relative uncertainty, and how this relationship is likely to change depending on project type, technological context and building coalitions. By covering new developments, trends and technologies in project management, the subject exposes students to possible transformations in the discipline. At the end of the subject, students are required to go through a self-assessment process that helps them identify knowledge gaps and own development paths as well as the importance of peer interaction and reflective learning in team environments.

The subject examines a number of topics relevant to the long-term ownership and use of buildings where sustainability is important. These topics include:

• Issues in property asset life cycles;
• Facility economics, including economic decision-making and life cycle costing;
• Triple-bottom line decision-making about property assets;
• Projects and interventions in properties’ life cycles;
• Property asset maintenance management;
• Depreciation and obsolescence of property assets; and
• Sustainability, value and investment decisions.

Topics covered include:

Commercial property as an investment asset class in Australia; Property joint ventures, partnerships, trusts, funds and companies; Listed and unlisted REITs; Valuation and pricing of listed and unlisted property securities; Equity and debt financing; Taxation of property investment vehicles, including stapled entities; Property funds management; Recent trends in property investment products.

A series of case studies conducted in two cities in China and India: Shanghai, Beijing, Bangalore and Hyderabad, over four intensive weeks.   Case studies are to be carried out in groups. They will cover a range of property, construction and infrastructure topics including project inception, project finance, project valuation and appraisal, urban planning policies and permits, project procurement and delivery, construction planning and management, construction technology and services, construction methods and equipment, construction and leasing contracts, and associated legal matters.

Candidates are required to arrange and pay for their own travel, accommodation and incidentals. The travel cost and accommodation is around AUD 5500 (AUD 2500 for travel and AUD 3000 for accommodation, food and local travel). One preferred/ recommended budget accommodation option in each of the cities will be provided.

 Note: This subject includes a pre-teaching period. During the pre-teaching period students are expected to complete the course readings, review the lectures and any other course preparation as outlined on the LMS. The LMS will become available at the commencement of the pre-teaching dates. Pre-teaching starts around mid-May

A series of case studies conducted in following centres in China (Shanghai and Beijing) and India (Bangalore and Hyderabad), over two intensive weeks (China: July 1 to July 13, 2019 and India: July 15 to July 26, 2019). The student must choose and indicate participation in one of the two countries. Case studies are to be carried out in groups. They will cover a range of property, construction and infrastructure topics including project inception, project finance, project valuation and appraisal, urban planning policies and permits, project procurement and delivery, construction planning and management, construction technology and services, construction methods and equipment, construction and leasing contracts, and associated legal matters.

Candidates are required to arrange and pay for their own travel, accommodation and incidentals. The travel cost would be about AUD 3000 (AUD 1500 for travel and AUD 1500 for accommodation, food and local travel -for either of the countries). One preferred/ recommended budget accommodation option in each of the cities will be provided.

Note: This subject includes a pre-teaching period. During the pre-teaching period students are expected to complete the course readings, review the lectures and any other course preparation as outlined on the LMS. The LMS will become available at the commencement of the pre-teaching dates. Pre teaching starts around the middle of May.

The focus of this subject lies in the integration of services and energy efficient strategies into the fabric of the building and its construction process. After introductory material on environmental quality and energy related issues, the subject provides students with knowledge in the field of electrical, mechanical, air handling, hydraulic and communication services and particularly the construction issues they generate: levels of documentation and decision-making required; connections with process planning; spatial requirements for functioning, installation and access purposes; protection and quality assurance; building tolerances; systems integration; layout strategies; work sequences and temporary works; contract coordination; testing; maintenance; and upgrading-replacement.

This subject covers the legal framework within which urban planning takes place, and the ways in which local provisions (e.g. ‘Planning Schemes' in Victoria) can be used to implement plans by regulating development. It focuses on the legal frameworks and measures used in Australia, with particular emphasis on Victoria, but critically compares these with alternative approaches used in other jurisdictions. The intention is to teach students not just how to ‘operate' the current legal and statutory systems, but also how to change them to produce better outcomes. We begin by considering the role of regulation and laws in the process of urban planning, and the objectives that statutory planning seeks to achieve. We consider the possible tensions and conflicts between these objectives, and the different basic approaches that might be adopted in dealing with these tensions. The course then introduces the framework of planning law and governance in Victoria, comparing it with practice elsewhere in Australia and in selected overseas jurisdictions. The Victorian statutory planning process is covered in detail, addressing the making and amending of planning schemes, scheme administration and appeals. Finally, we consider the relationship between these state systems and other regulatory systems, such as Commonwealth environmental legislation, before turning to the question of possible reform of the Victorian and Australian systems.

This subject explores planning and policy making for productive and competitive urban settlements by investigating the economic drivers, activities, and interrelationships of cities and regions. You will examine how making and moving of goods, services, and jobs shapes the vitality, structure and governance of cities and regions. Complex planning issues, requiring judgements about the competing demands of economic development and social needs, are associated with the growth and decline of sectors and places in their particular urban contexts. Various economic perspectives and examples are used to show and interpret how urban activities and sectors – such as manufacturing, transport, services, recreation, and creative activities – have locational and network impacts within and between cities. Special attention will be paid to comparative analysis and innovation in developing cities and regions, and to the implications of market failures and inequalities produced by economic development activities.

The subject concerns housing in Australia. This subject has four components:

1. The operation of the housing market: how the housing market works; supply, demand, role of property developers and the role of banks.
2. The contribution of housing and planning for housing to the urban forms of Australia's cities.
3. Why the housing market fails certain groups.
4. Low-income housing policy (e.g. social housing).

The subject includes both market and equity considerations.

This subject aims to give students an understanding of the processes and issues relating to the transfer of freehold and leasehold interests in property with a commercial agency focus within the current legal and market context. The subject will be presented under three main themes:

1. real estate agency structures - legislation and agency practice, licensing, codes of ethics, consumer protection;
2. the management of an agency practice including trust accounts;
3. marketing and markets.

Urban Informatics is the study of cities using digital data, information, knowledge and models to understand trends, complexities and inform the formulation and evaluation of sustainable urban futures.

This subject aims to arm the student with the necessary fundamental concepts and practical understanding of the rise of the Smart City and how urban informatics can assist in evidenced-based and collaborative decision-making.

The new science of cities (Batty, 2013) is driven by the deluge of data that enables the mapping of the Smart City and new geographies that can be explored, analysed and synthesized. Planners, geographers, urban designers, landscape architects, spatial scientists and other disciplines interest in the urban settlements require a deeper knowledge of digital data and how to access, interrogate, visualize and synthesis such data to realise the vision of the smart and sustainable city.

This subject utilises the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN) portal as an e-learning resource for exploring what is possible in emerging in the new discipline of urban informatics. Students will also be exposed to a range of other complementary digital environments including open data repositories, urban modelling and visualisation tools and open source geospatial information technologies.